State Library customers can search
the full text of the Des Moines Register and six
other Iowa
newspapers: Cityview, the East Dubuque Register, the Cedar Rapids Gazette, the
Burlington Hawk Eye, the Iowa City Press-Citizen, and the Dubuque Telegraph
Herald. Newsweek, Time, and U.S. News & World Report are also
included.

To search for articles go to our Web
site www.statelibraryofiowa.org, click
on ‘Logon to Online Resources’ in the left sidebar, and then click on
‘NewsBank’. Enter your State Library card number to access the
database.

If you don’t have a card and would
like to register for one, click on ‘State Library Card’ on the left sidebar of
our Web site.

For assistance finding an article or
for more information, please call our reference staff at 515-281-4102,
800-248-4483 or email is@lib.state.ia.us.

The other day a state employee
called the State Library with a desperate plea, "Can you send over a
copy of our agency's annual report from last year, right away?" They were
shocked to hear our answer: "Sorry, but your agency did not deposit a copy
of your annual report with us last year, so we can't help you." They were
distraught as no one in their agency had kept a copy, either.

Has your agency
deposited a copy of your important public documents at the State
Library, either in paper form to the State
Documents Depository Program or in electronic form to Iowa Publications
Online? Don't let these very important documents disappear when you
"update your Web site" or clean out the storage closet.

Linda Robertson, the State Law
Librarian for many years, retired in December 2006. Mandy Easter and Cory Quist
were named Law Librarians and oversee the reference services and collections at
the Law Library
which is located on the second floor of the StateCapitolBuilding.

Changes were made on the first floor
of the Law Library to return the appearance to its original look and feel, which
created more open space. The alcove facing the main door, which previously
housed staff desks, was cleared to accentuate the beautiful view toward
downtown. The large reference desk, with its cage-like grillwork, has been
returned to its original location at the north end of the main floor. With its
five stories of open tiers, the Law Library is a beautiful place to
visit.

Join us during National
Library Week, April 16-20, 2007, for the
State Data
Showcase! Spend an hour or all week exploring the
wealth of data available from state and federal agencies. Our presenters are
subject-matter experts from a variety of agencies, including the State Library;
Iowa Departments of Education, Economic Development, Human Rights, Human
Services, Management, Natural Resources, Public Health, Public Safety, Revenue,
Transportation, and Workforce Development; Iowa College Student Aid Commission;
Legislative Services; National Agricultural Statistics Service; and Iowa Kids
Count. One day will be dedicated to interactive mapping and GIS data resources
in state agencies.

You may register for one session or
as many sessions as you like. Further information about registration will be
announced in mid-February on the State Data Center Web site at www.iowadatacenter.org. Questions?
Call Beth Henning in the StateDataCenter at 515-281-4350 or
800-248-4483.

The State Library will also
celebrate National Library Week by hosting a Lunch and Learn about polio in
Iowa to tie in
with the All Iowa Reads book selected this year, Splendid Solution, Jonas Salk
and the Conquest of Polio by Jeffrey Kluger. More information will be available
in the next issue of this newsletter. To read about the All Iowa Reads program
go to http://www.iowacenterforthebook.org/air/2007/index.html.
To read people’s stories about polio, or to add your own, go to www.iowapoliostories.org.

The State Library is hosting
an exhibit of the paintings of local
doctor, Phillip L. Bryant,
D.O. Dr. Bryant, a family practice physician in
the Des Moines
area, is also a life long artist. A variety of his works are on display at
the Library through February. Watercolors, acrylics, pastels and more cover
topics from an ancient waterwheel in Iraq to a portrait of his three
children. Many of the paintings have a water theme, showing Dr. Bryant’s
love for the water and boating.

Stop by the OlaBabcockMillerBuilding and enjoy this beautiful exhibit.
We are located at the NW corner of E. 12th and Grand Ave.
Visitor parking is available directly north of the building.

Looking for an
interesting book to read during these cold days of
winter? The State Library has quite a number of titles about Iowa: its history, its
people, its quirks, and much more. Here are some titles you might try. You
can find these and many more titles in our online catalog at http://catalog.lib.state.ia.us/ where
state employees can request that the books be sent to them. All Iowans can
come to the library and check them out.

A Century Of Iowa Architecture:
1900-1999 / text by Jason Alread; photography by Cameron Campbell.
2004.

The projects illustrated in this
book were selected from nominations that were juried by a panel of distinguished
Iowans. In selecting the projects to be honored, the jury was careful to
consider issues related to the buildings’ civic and cultural significance in
addition to design excellence. The buildings represented are an attempt to
celebrate a small portion of Iowa’s exceptional architecture and the high
quality of the communities that created them.

A Field Guide To The North American
Prairie / Stephen R. Jones and Ruth Carol Cushman.
2004.

The North American prairie extends
across eighteen states and provinces in the heartland of the United States and Canada, and many
prairie preserves are within easy driving distance of large cities. This new
field guide provides detailed profiles of 48 major North American prairie
preserves and capsule descriptions of 120 smaller preserves. Each preserve
profile includes practical information on what times of year to visit, how to
get there, where to go hiking and camping--and even boating. Each profile also
covers weather conditions and wildlife of special interest, in addition to the
flora, fauna, and natural history of the preserve. More than 250 stunning color
photos illustrate everything from scarab dung beetles and orchids to bison
wallows and hailstorms.

Wander prairies blazing with color.
Climb up ridges and discover stunning vistas. Dip into quiet valleys and
peaceful canyons. Glide through a golden forest, stroll a city street, stand
beneath a waterfall or in a cave. In this book, Lynn Walters guides you to some
of Iowa’s most
scenic and diverse trails. No matter if you are in the mood for a casual jaunt
or an adventuresome trek, Great Iowa Walks can help you plan your
route.

The author's skillful narrative
brings to life the events and the people that compose Iowa's rich heritage.
Readers will identify with the lives of ordinary people from all periods of
Iowa's past, helping them to see their own role
in the continuing story of Iowa.

The IowaState Fair: In Vintage Postcards / Ron
Playle. 2006.

Each August, the Iowa State
Fairgrounds, home to America’s quintessential state fair,
becomes 400 acres of sights, sounds, and aromas. More than just a showcase for
farm machinery, the fair has one of the world’s largest livestock shows,
hundreds of competitive events, first-class entertainment, and every imaginable
type of food-on-a-stick. The first Iowa State Fair, held in 1854 at Fairfield, drew 10,000
visitors. Now attendance regularly tops one million visitors per year. The State
Fairgrounds in Des
Moines, listed on the National Register of Historic
Places, has been the fair’s location since 1886. Since the fair’s early days,
fairgoers could choose from a large selection of postcards, stick on a stamp,
and mail them to friends to describe their blue ribbon, an exciting midway ride,
or the great entertainment. Over 190 vintage postcards provide glimpses of the
fair from the 1890s to the mid-1950s in The Iowa State
Fair.

Iowans of the Mighty Eighth /
Charles Day Taylor. 2005

During World War II, Iowans of the
"Mighty Eighth" Air Force were based in England from 1942 to 1946, a year
after the end of World War II. Aircrews flew in un-pressurized, unheated,
piston-engine airplanes where temperatures inside the aircraft reached sixty
degrees below zero. Despite horrific losses, fear, apprehension, loneliness and
exhaustion, their morale never broke. Read the experiences of over three hundred
Iowa veterans
of the greatest air armada ever assembled.